procrastination
Noun[U] /prəˌkræs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
the act of delaying something that must be done (1)
Have you ever delayed completing tasks that are important? Do you find reasons to avoid doing what needs to be done? Many people can admit to procrastinating in everyday life. Sometimes we may ignore that inner nudge to go to bed, or send that email, finish that project, have that conversation, or simply stop what we’re doing and move on to what’s needed next.
Procrastination is a widespread problem in society. Psychology Today reported that, “Twenty percent of people identify as chronic procrastinators.” Procrastination creates a tension in the body that has an impact on our health and wellbeing. It affects our immune system, our sleep and our relationships (2). Putting things off whether for a year or a day can trigger stress, anxiety, nervous energy, a need to push through or a feeling of being unprepared; all of these factors create a vicious cycle of tension and impact our quality of life.
By comparison, completing tasks and not procrastinating allows a sense of flow in our lives, it offers a sense of lightness within us that we can then bring to our relationships, to our work and our home.
Achieving completion in our day-to-day allows us to build a foundation for ourselves, a consistency and flow to move forward in life and on to what is next. Breaking this cycle of procrastination involves an inner connection to ourselves and valuing the innate qualities we naturally bring. In appreciating ourselves we can more easily say “yes” to what needs to be done – and we can see how our choice to delay affects not only ourselves but also those around us.
For example, our deadlines may seem burdensome so we can put it off until the last minute, however if we connect to the bigger picture and what the actual completion of the tasks will bring – to our workplace, or our clients, or others around us – there is a greater ease in completing what is required, whilst caring for ourselves. The focus is no longer on the challenge, gritting our teeth, overexerting ourselves or pushing through, but playing our part to support ourselves, others and the bigger picture.
When we surrender to the given impulse and choose not to procrastinate, there is an ease and flow we can have with life; there is often a feeling of lightness in the body, like a weight has lifted. This is in contrast to the effort we can put into holding back and hesitating. The tension is actually felt in holding back and containing what is already there to unfold. Our responsibility is to get the support we need to say “yes” to committing to everyday life.
We know how easy and simple life can be when we don’t procrastinate,yet tend to still put things off.There is often a reason for our avoidance like fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, not ‘good enough’ or dreading the task at hand. But, is there something else we are choosing to avoid? Could our procrastination be about our relationship with success and our true potential?
We can use procrastination to hold us back in life, to avoid success and even to avoid attention. This limits our true potential and sense of purpose. We tend to dislike the struggle that procrastination brings, but at the same time this pattern can keep us in our comfort zone.
In avoiding our commitment to daily life, we shy away from our grandness and accepting a greater level of responsibility that we have the ability to live. It is joyful to live our ‘all’ in life, despite the drudgery our mind can go into. At their core, every person is an amazing being and has a potential to unfold.
True freedom lies in surrendering to life - not trying to hold back and control it. When we choose to surrender, we allow simplicity, flow and our true potential to be lived. Then, procrastination no longer becomes a tool of delay to hold back who we are and what we bring.
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